E3 2006: New EVE Online Expansion Announced

This morning CCP unveiled plans for an expansion to the massively multiplayer game EVE online that it has named The Path to Kali.

EVE is an elaborate outer space adventure that is driven by a player-powered economy. In choosing from an enormous selection of professions -- from mining engineer to pirate to battle ship commander -- you pilot your deeply customizable outer space ship through a true multi-galaxy universe.

The Path to Kali is packed to the space gills with new regions in the game universe, fresh exploration content, reverse engineering capabilities, brand-new space ships, upgrades for said space ships, new professions, and combat boosters. This expansion also introduces means for players to engage in factional warfare by aligning themselves with an NPC faction.

This expansion ushers in the innovative "Advanced Reactive Content System (ARCS)" where the political landscape and physical borders of the in-game nation-states can be constantly altered through player action. This means that players' actions generate content and storyline.

"Games either provide active content, in which the player reacts to artificial changes in the game universe, or they provide reactive content, in which the entire game universe reacts to the actions that players decide for themselves," said Magnus Bergsson, CMO of CCP Games. "CCP believes strongly that the players should be the center focus of the storyline and control the evolution of the game universe. The Path to Kali will lead EVE Online to great heights in reactive content and further establish EVE Online as the premium free-form MMOG on the market today."

CCP is also releasing a newer version of the graphics engine for EVE Online that will utilize the current DirectX 9.

The Path to Kali expansion will begin this summer with the first release, and end in 2007 with the factional warfare implementation. Stay tuned for impressions from the show floor of the Electronic Entertainment Expo of this game (and a few more) all week.